(Sports Network) - The Texas Rangers try to make it five wins in six tries this afternoon as they close out a three-game interleague set against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
The hot-hitting Rangers, batting a collective .301 over the last seven games, managed to hold on for the 4-3 win over Milwaukee on the road on Saturday night as Josh Hamilton crushed his 14th home run of the season, extending his hit streak to nine in a row. Justin Smoak added a two-run double and Ian Kinsler had two hits and scored twice for the Rangers. Michael Young finished 1-for-4 with a walk and is two hits shy of tying Ivan Rodriguez (1,747) for the most in the franchise history.
Texas starter Scott Feldman picked up the win, his fourth of the season, as he held the opposition scoreless over six innings, permitting just four hits and walking three, while striking out six. Chris Ray closed out the ninth for his first save of the campaign.
Manny Parra suffered his fourth loss of the season after giving up three runs on five hits and three walks, fanning eight over six innings.
Rickie Weeks logged three hits, two of which were doubles, as he matched Ryan Braun with a pair of two-base hits, while catcher Jonathan Lucroy also produced three hits.
"It's a pretty frustrating loss because of all the opportunities we had," said Milwaukee manager Ken Macha.
Making his first-ever appearance against the Brewers this afternoon is right- hander Colby Lewis. The California native last pitched on Tuesday when he permitted just a single run on four hits and three walks, while striking out five over seven innings in a 7-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Lewis, who spent time pitching in Japan since leaving the Oakland A's back in 2007, has a career record of 17-19 with a lofty 5.85 ERA.
As for Milwaukee, the home team has picked Yovani Gallardo to take the mound today. The four-year veteran pitched a strong game against the Chicago Cubs earlier this week, limiting the opposition to just four hits and a pair of walks, while striking out seven over seven scoreless innings. Despite the effort, Gallardo failed to earn a decision in the team's 3-2 victory.
The Mexican native, who has bounced back from a 0-2 start to the season, is also making his first-ever appearance against the opposition today.
Hamilton, who recently changed his approach at the plate, now has three home runs and 11 RBI in his last seven games, while Kinsler has scored a team-best 10 runs in that same span.
As for the Brewers, they've slumped to a collective .226 batting average over the last week, compared to .262 for their opponents. The Milwaukee pitching staff has allowed eight home runs and a total of 45 runs over the last five games, which is just one of the reasons why the club is 10 games under .500 and 9 1/2 games out of contention in the National League Central.